Shelby 8 Snippet 3

 Sitrep:

So, I finished the first act of Jethro 9 and sent it off. I'm almost done the second act so truckin' right along there!

In other news, Rea sent Shelby 8 back to me. I sent it off to Goodlifeguide so the clock is ticking down to when it gets published!

 And on to the next snippet:

 

 

Minox IV, Confederation Capital

 

Thenew government was struggling with getting approval of their replacementappointees let alone clean house in the army and law enforcement. The AttorneyGeneral’s Office was swamped. Everyone was scrambling. The ruling war party wasin chaos. Nearly half of their old members had stated they were retiring or hadimmediately retired. A few had left the star system. Several had died fromcoronary events or strokes. They were rudderless and gave off mixed signals ontheir intentions.

Congressbarely had a quorum half of the time. The markets had been frozen to keep chaosand panic down. Each time they were released the slide began.

FormerSenator Scar Chin was president. Speaker of the House Kas was now acting vicepresident. There was some chatter that his elevation was not legal, but theherd needed a leader so many in both parties supported the duo initially. WhenPresident Scar Chin announced that there would be a full investigation and thatthe guilty would be charged and held accountable, it eroded some of his fragilebase on both sides. The old war party wanted to be covered.

Theybleated that they hadn’t done anything wrong or that it had been Ramhorn andthe late senators who had supported him. Many hit on the party line of doingthe right thing for the wrong reasons.

Someof the proposed terms from the Federation were leaked. The population approvedof keeping their sovereignty in a poll as well as restoring the rights ofnonTaurens. They also supported relocating them to the Federation but balked atpaying reparations.

Theydid want to hold those who had cause the mess and who had committed war crimesaccountable. That sent all parties into a frenzy of finger pointing andhysterics to the point that the government ground to a crawl and little moregot done.

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Former Admiral Togo and Gambitwere together when the news that General Dun had been arrested. They watched asthe general was escorted out of a home and to a vehicle and driven away. “Perpwalk,” Togo muttered. “What an indignity.”

“I know.”

“I’m glad we didn’t have a handin war crimes,” Togo muttered.

“I hope not,” Gambit replied.Togo looked at him sharply. “I know, we didn’t but some of the field commandersmight have gotten … a bit … risqué in their orders.”

“That is on them.”

“It depends on how the AGinterprets the ROE we cut for them,” Gambit warned.

Admiral Togo winced and flappedhis ears. After a moment, he grunted.

“Who is in charge? Any clue?”

“At the moment? No idea. We’reout, that is all I know,” Togo said. His wife had left him. The same forGambit. They had been forced out of base housing. Their spouses were suing them,and their money had been locked up by the courts. With the financial marketsfrozen, they couldn’t get at investments. They had come together to stay at acabin that many flag officers used as a vacation retreat.

Flashing lights appeared outside.Gambit and then Togo looked up and out of the window to see a herd of Taurenagents pulling up.

“Ah hell and Murphy,” Togomuttered as his shoulders hunched.

“He does love his little tricks,”Gambit muttered.

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Blacksight shook his head as hesaw arrest after arrest on the news. He was out of it; he had fallen throughthe cracks and disappeared. He’d even gone so far as to fake his death themoment President Ramhorn’s government resigned.

He didn’t know if it wouldprotect him but he hoped so. It was now his only recourse, to fade intoobscurity and hope he died of old age before someone tripped over him.

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Admiral Fiddlybit was reelingover the losses in ships and lives, not to mention his world view. He wasapolitical so he should be okay. Someof the flag officers, however, were on extended leave. It left dangerous gapingholes in their chain of command.

At the moment, he was acting headof BuShips. Admiral Byx was in temporary command as acting CNO per the acting president.Admiral Silvertip had been in talks to return to the office but he was taintedby past actions involving the mistreatment of non-Tauren species so that wasdelayed or off.

It was a mess. He couldn’t blamesome bulls for laying low. But someone had to keep things running and thelights on in their absence.

For the moment, they were tryingto keep things running until a bull was found who had not been tainted by thewar or by prior bad acts was found. What was the old saying? For want of anhonest bull?

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